Joao Carlos Teixeira made just eight appearances for Liverpool in three seasons

But he failed to live up to them and the 23-year-old attacking playmaker - who initially drew comparisons with Deco - has now rejected the offer of a new contract and penned a four-year deal with Porto.

The problem for Reds boss Jurgen Klopp is that he will only receive a paltry sum from the Portuguese giants.

FIFA regulations state that because Teixeira is under 24 and moving abroad, Reds can only receive 300,000 euros (£250,000) for the player.

SIX LIVERPOOL FOREIGN FLOPS

1: SAMED YESIL
Former Germany youth international has proved to be £1m down the drain after being released last week. Scored 57 goals in 71 matches in the Bayer Leverkusen youth teams before the Reds pounced. Suffered a string of injury setbacks that hindered his development before spending last season on loan at Swiss club Luzerne, where he netted just once in 11 outings.

2: SUSO
The Spanish playmaker arrived from Cadiz with Real Madrid circling. He said: "I was going to sign for Real Madrid but one day before it the phone rang and Rafa Benítez spoke to me. He convinced me that Liverpool was the club for me and after that I had to change my plans. I was going to come to Liverpool." Made 14 Red appearances before being allowed to leave, with Milan snapping him up before loaning him to Genoa.

3: SEBASTIAN COATES
Liverpool waxed £5m on this deal, signing the highly-rated Uruguay international from Nacional for £7m in 2011 before selling him three years later for just £2m to Sunderland. Looked all at sea in the rare outings that he was given and hasn’t done much better in the North-East, where he has made ten and 16 Prem appearances in each of the last two season.

4: DANIEL PACHECO
'The Assassin' came with massive hype after being plucked from Barcelona’s La Masia youth set-up, but showed anything but a killer touch at Anfield. Played internationally for Spain at six different age groups but lost his way at Liverpool and was out the door three loan spells later. He headed to Spanish second-tier club Alcorcon and impressed enough to earn a move to Betis, but spent last season on loan at Alaves.

5: LUIS ALBERTO
Sevilla youth prodigy is still on the books but time is running out for the former Spain youth international who cost Reds £6.8m. Has spent the last two seasons on loan at Malaga and Deportivo La Coruna and made just nine appearances for Liverpool. Could be handed a lifeline by Klopp ahead of the new season but appears in last-chance saloon.

6: TIAGO ILORI
Arrived for a seemingly astonishing £7m with a reputation for being fast and comfortable on the ball. The Hampstead-born defender could not cite the language barrier as an issue, given his English father, but has failed to adjust to the demands of the division having moved from Sporting. Reds somehow clawed £1m back from Villa last season in a loan deal that failed for all concerned, having already been shipped out for stints at Granada and Bordeaux.